With Life Comes Changes
by Midnight Shine
Summary: Claire decides to move into Mineral Town to help ease the pain from when her relationship with Kai ends. She needs new scenery, and that's what she'll get. She didn't expect love again so soon though... HM:MFoMT. Claire/Gray. On HIATUS.
1. Change of Scenery

**Hi! My first long-fic... I'm not very good at them, but I think I'll give this one a shot... **

**Note: I totally **_**suck**_** at titles. So ya... this one's kinda... weird, and I really couldn't think of a lot of others. **

**Anyway... on with Chapter 1!**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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**With Life Comes Changes**

**Chapter 1-Change of Scenery**

_I knew something was coming... He had that look on his face... it made me nervous. His usually exuberant brown eyes were now reflecting a different emotion; sadness, pain, regret. I was silent, as I closed my eyes, and waited for something that I really did not want to hear. _

"_Claire..." he said softly. "I... I can't..."_

_I opened my eyes, and just stared at him. _

"_What are you talking about...?" I whispered. _

_Kai just shook his head. "I'm sorry Claire... I can't do this anymore... it's hurting you more than you realize," he said softly._

"_Nothing's hurting me!" I said, my voice cracking, knowing that something bad must be up._

_Kai caught my gaze. "It's hurting you more than you realize it to," he repeated. "I... I have to leave more often now Claire. I'll only be here for a week each year. I was born to travel... and family won't hear otherwise."_

_I looked warily into his soft brown eyes. "So I... I won't see you until next year?" I asked softly._

_His gaze intensified, as if trying to communicate something crucial. "Claire... I'm saying it's bad for you to deal with this. It will eventually hurt you... even if you don't think it will. You... you deserve someone that can love you to the fullest, not someone like me that moves around too much and barely has time to think about the topics of relationships..." he said gently, but still intense. "So... I think it'll be a good idea to not see each other from now on."_

"_I-!" I stopped short. This meant... that... he didn't... want me anymore...? I stared into his eyes, but I found no contradiction to what he said._

_He continued to watch me as the information slowly sunk in. For about the two years that we were together, he was leaving me..._

"_K-Kai? I... why? I-I don't care! I love you..." I whispered._

_He looked silently at me, his brown eyes reflecting my sorrow._

"_Claire, it's better this way, trust me... you wouldn't see much of me anyway, and while I'm away, you'll just get heartsick in this city here. It'll be better for you to move on, forget it, and find someone else that doesn't constantly have to move around... someone that can love you more than I can..." he said wistfully. _

"_But... but Kai! I... I can't find anyone else! I... I already found you! I don't need anyone else! I'll go with you! Don't... don't leave..." I said in a panic, my voice breaking at the end. _

"_I... I have to go Claire," he said. "Take care of yourself." He caught my gaze one last time and held it there. I stared into those brown eyes... until he slowly turned, breaking his gaze, and walked away, swiftly._

_I stared after him, tears streaming down my face. I didn't have the energy to move forward to stop him, the pain was too much. I toppled over to my knees, and stayed immobile there. I didn't really care if anyone found me; I needed to be alone..._

I jolted up from my bed, eyes flying open. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. They were slightly wet... I had that dream again... (or would you call it a nightmare?). It was like an exact replica of what happened on that day... and it hurt... a lot. Since when do people have dreams that match reality to the fullest anyway? It wasn't even missing his purple bandanna, and had the perfect tone and colour of his eyes and voice... I sighed. It was just a week after that it happened. I know that I probably should be a bit better now, but I wasn't. I pondered... for two years we were fine... why did he leave me so suddenly...? He always said it was because he was moving too much around anyway, and I would get my heart broken eventually because of his constant departures. Pain rippled through me, and I cringed against my bed. I couldn't think about this... it hurt too much.

I bit my lip, trying to ignore the fierce ache in my chest. Maybe I'll get over him one day, like he said, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. I forced my thoughts to another subject before the pain could intensify.

I wasn't doing so well, in reality (putting the love aspect aside...). I had no job, the city that I lived in caused painful memories to trigger, and I was living in my parent's house. Pretty bad. I sighed deeply and stretched. I slowly rose out my bed and glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. I sighed again. I didn't want to go back to sleep, so I got up and did my regular morning routines. By the time I was finished, my parents were awake and lively downstairs.

"Hi Claire. Did you sleep alright?" My mother asked me cautiously.

Ever since he left me, my parents were usually quiet, and left me alone, so her spoken concern surprised me.

"F-fine," I answered unsteadily.

"You know..." my mother said quietly. "You've been pretty... depressed about the whole break-up thing."

As I opened my mouth to protest, she quickly continued.

"Not to say that you shouldn't be. Everyone is always fairly upset about things like that," she said quickly. "But I was thinking... do you think the change of scenery would be good for you?"

I just stared at my mother blankly. What was she saying?

"W-what?" I asked.

"You know... a change of scenery. Different surroundings, different buildings, everything different," she said quietly. "Different people as well."

I stared at her, until the realization sunk in. I _think _she wanted me to move out. To get out of her house. Ugh... why did everyone want to get rid of me lately!? What did I _do_!?

"You want me to move out?" I asked flatly.

"Um... well... sort of," she replied. "Look, Claire, I'm not kicking you out or anything. I just thought that... you know, after Kai left-" Just by saying his name, a wave of pain washed over me. It wasn't has rough as usual though. "-you just looked so sad, the wave of depression never left you. Even now, it's still there. I just thought that... you know... if you got away from here, the place that he left you, you might get over it faster. It might be easier for you." She shrugged, looking down.

"I..." I honestly didn't know what to say or do. My mother clearly stated that I could stay if I wanted to, but a new change of scenery sounded oh-so-tempting. I really needed to get out of here in a way...

"I think I might just do that," I responded quietly.

She looked surprised. I think she honestly wasn't expecting this answer. She was probably expecting no answer, considering that I hadn't been saying much lately. The idea sounded fairly appealing though.

"I-I'm glad I could help," she said in a shocked tone. She cleared her throat, and composed her voice. "So, if you're moving out... where are you going?"

That stopped me. I wasn't really sure where I was going. My decision was so impromptu, I never really thought about that yet.

"Uh..." I cast my mind around for a couple of towns. There was always Flower Bud Village... Forget-Me-Not-Valley, and Mineral Town... I voiced my options to her.

"Oooh..." she said excitedly. "How about Forget-Me-Not-Valley? I heard that it's really nice there, and the scenery is beautiful. The sky is clearly seen as a brilliant blue... and there are plenty of trees!"

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes my mom could act so childishly. My eyes wandered over to the stray newspaper on the table. I scrutinized it closely. What caught my attention was the word, "Mineral Town".

_"A Mineral Town Notice (for people that obviously don't live there)_

_Attention tourists, and/or people that need a comfortable place to live! We have one here! We have a huge plot of land here, ready for crops to be planted and harvested. Barns and chicken coops are also included. You will also be provided with a lovely home, conveniently placed near the shops in our quaint little town! _

_If you are planning on moving out of your town/city, come by here, and proudly reside in our wonderful little town!"_

"Mineral Town seems like an okay option," I told her in a quiet voice, and showed her the newspaper article.

She nodded, and then said, "You'd be acting like a farmer though. Would you like to do this type of work?"

I nodded. It would be good to get my mind off of some topics. Farming would be an excellent outlet. I needed something to keep my hands _and _my mind busy.

"Alright then. I think I'll go look for some traveling information about it. We've been there before on holidays... I'm sure I still have some brochures..." she said, obviously trying to help out.

I shot her a quizzical look. "We've been there before?" I asked.

"When you were really young. About a year old, I think. You probably won't remember."

I nodded. I didn't remember anything about Mineral Town from my early childhood.

She grinned, her eyes gleaming exuberantly as she rushed out of the kitchen. I smiled a small smile. My mother was always so childishly excited when it came to different towns and such...

I got up and quickly made myself something to eat. As I sat down and ate, I gazed out the window forlornly, and wondered how my future in Mineral Town would be... how small was it, exactly? Was it small enough that everyone there knew each other? I wasn't so sure... and the farm work? I guess that would be okay... you need to get up early, but lately, I've been waking up early anyway. Animals... would actually be pretty cute to take care of. I've always wanted a dog too, but I couldn't get one here because my dad was allergic.

A few hours later, my mother found me lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. It was now one of my favourite pastimes... it seemed... I was thinking... not about... what hurt me, but about farming, and Mineral Town.

"Claire?" she asked tentatively. My attention shifted to her as I adjusted my body to face her.

"Hm?"

"I have some brochures here if you want them," she replied, placing them on my desk, and then swiftly left the room, to obviously give me some peace and quiet to myself.

I walked over to my desk, and glanced at the brochures... I didn't even know that they made them for that place... it didn't really matter though, my decision was already made. I pushed a lock of long blond hair out of my face and around my ear as I grabbed a brochure and flipped through it. My eyes passed over what it said, but I wasn't really reading it. My mind was far away... thinking.

* * *

A week came and left, and I was off to Mineral Town. I've already said my farewells to my parents, and was walking towards a dock, holding a medium sized suitcase, along with a large bag, and a purse. I didn't have that many possessions-only a few overalls, shirts, jeans and some formal wear... I only wore them when I had to though. If there was one piece of clothing I despised, they were dresses. (Even though I did receive a few of them for birthdays...)

I strode swiftly towards the dock, where a series of small boats were waiting. I was slightly surprised... shouldn't it be just a bit bigger? I shrugged off the idea as I asked the person on the boat if this one led to Mineral Town. It was the affirmative answer.

I stepped onto the boat cautiously. There seemed to be no one else boarding so he started to guide the boat out of the city that I lived in. I probably won't be seeing it for a while, so I gazed the land that was slowly fading out of sight as the boat moved at a moderate pace towards my destination.

"Hey..."

I looked up at the sound. It was the man that was driving the boat that was speaking.

"You're the girl that bought the farm, aren't you?" he asked.

"Um... what?" I asked. I wasn't paying attention.

"In Mineral Town... that's where we're headed. Did you buy the farm there?" he repeated his question.

"I... did," I answered, puzzled. Why would he want to know?

My emotions must have shown on my face, because he chuckled, and said, "Sorry. My name's Zack, I'm the postman and shipper for Mineral Town. I was just curious. Your name is...?"

"Claire," I answered him.

He nodded. Then he burst out in more questions.

"Are you a good farmer or something?" he questioned me.

"Um... I haven't really... done anything like that before... I just wanted to move to a new place... so farming seemed alright," I commented quietly to him.

He looked at me with a quizzical expression.

"You know... the farm there; it's not in great shape. It was abandoned a few years ago. We've been trying to get someone to buy it for ages..." he remarked.

"I... didn't know that," I said softly. Great, there were probably weeds and everything junky just sitting on that "huge plot of land". Ugh. Way to go Claire.

He suddenly grinned.

"You fell for that newspaper thing, didn't you?" He chuckled to himself quietly.

"I..."

"It was just a really bad advertisement to get someone over here," he chuckled. "Obviously, it worked on you."

I flushed and looked down. Great. It seemed that Mineral Town was full of gossip. I was probably known as "Claire, the-one-who-fell-for-the-newspaper-trick". Gah... my bad luck never failed to come to me. I thought for a bit. The farm couldn't be that bad... could it? I guess I would just have to work twice as hard to bring my farm back up to the normal standard... if it _was _that bad.

Zack's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I really shouldn't be laughing... but if you think you can handle it..."

I just stared at him. A moment late, I realized he was talking about the farm. He frowned.

"Never mind, we're almost there," he spoke quietly.

And through the fog, I saw a small, quaint town com slowly into view.

"It looks nice," I commented to him, trying to alleviate the tension that suddenly settled in.

He smirked. "That's Mineral Town for ya," he said cheerfully.

Our small boat eventually reached the dock of Mineral Town. The beach seemed lovely from here.

"We're here," he said quietly. "Uh... here's a map... if you need it. You'll probably get used to this small town anyway, but just in case," he told me awkwardly. I took the map, thanked him, and started taking my small luggage out of the boat.

I stepped out onto the sand, map and luggage in hand, ready to start another part of my life here, in Mineral Town.

******

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**

Well... there's the first chapter. I feel like I wrote the ending to this chapter really bad... Heh... and I'm not the best at newspaper articles either. It was probably bad.

**Anyway... I hope that you (for the people that actually read this far) enjoyed it... and thanks for reading. :) **

**Some ideas for the next chapter(s) would be nice, as I really don't have that much of an idea on what's going to happen... I have my few vague ideas, but that's about it. XD **

**Reviews are loved, and greatly appreciated. :)**


	2. Klutziness

**Here's the update... chapter two!**

**This all seems like a type-as-you-go-story for me. I have some ideas planned out, then I as I write it, I think of new ones... XD Hah... does it seem that way to you people that read this? Just curious. XD**

**As a clarification... the break up with Kai happened about a week ago. Just wanted to point that out... **

**Claire gets over things pretty fast though. wink wink**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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**Chapter 2-Klutziness**

I strolled over toward my farm, luggage in hand. Wow. This needed a lot of work. Ugh... and I was so tired too... I didn't get much sleep, and it was still early.

"Ahem..." a new voice spoke.

I whirled around, yanked from my reverie.

"Uh... hi," he said. "I'm the mayor of this town... just to let you know. My name's Thomas. You are...?"

"Claire," I said quietly, while appraising the hat and outfit he wore. This guy's fashion sense was doomed.

"All right! Well then... if you need any tips on farming or any type of help at all, please let me know!" he said happily.

He turned around, gave a cheery wave, and strode out of my doomed-looking farm.

I stared. That was kind of creepy. I took my key from my pocket and unlocked the door to reveal a very small one room house. I sighed. It looked pretty bad, but I guess I was lucky that there was a bed, table and chair, and even a TV. There was also a small dresser tucked into a corner...

I stuffed my suitcases into a corner of the house examining the interior of it while standing. I gave up, and sat down on the hard, though smooth wooden floor. I unpacked slowly, taking each possession out and putting my clothes into the dresser. I continued this fashion; taking stuff out and putting them into their respective places. I did bring a few kitchen utensils, and a bit of that food in cans (which needed to be cooked), but there was no kitchen, which posed a slight problem. I didn't have much gold on me either. Gah. This sucked.

That's when I noticed there was no _bathroom. _Ugh... what the heck? What type of house had no bathroom? How was I supposed to...? I let that thought trail off as I sat on a chair, noticed a small box. Curious, I went over and peeked inside.

I picked up the hoe, watering can, a bag of seeds, an axe, and a hammer and placed it all into my bag, turning to go outside and get at least something accomplished on this farm today.

--

After much work, I wiped the sweat off my brow, admiring the work that I had completed in front of me. Actually, I was slightly surprised at myself. About three quarters of the farm was clear of all junk, except for the rocks and tree trunks too large for me to dispose of. How do you get rid of those things anyway? I tried repeatedly to smash that damn stump and nothing happened. I think I twisted my ankle wrong when I tripped over a branch too... it wasn't exactly sprained (I don't _think _it was, but what do I know?) just badly stretched out... I could still walk... ugh, I was so clumsy.

I realized, slightly late, that I maybe should go and acquaint myself with Mineral  
Town folks... oops... I just got caught up with the farming I guess...

I tossed my tools into my rucksack, and walked out of the northern path leading out of my farm.

Sooner or later, I was going to need a shower or a bath of some sort. And I had no idea _what _to do about that. I had no bathroom... maybe I'll ask someone about it...

It was around mid-afternoon, a brilliant shining sun sparkling down on the quaint town. I walked on the cobblestone path, and almost ended up smashing against a door.

I sighed. Good job, klutzy.

The door flipped open, hitting my face.

"Arghh!" I yelled out, as I rubbed my nose.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't m-mean...!" a panicky and horrified voice spoke.

"I..." I looked up, and saw a flushed looking guy with messy brown hair that flipped out in the front and was tied into a ponytail in the back. He had dark brownish eyes, and wore a vest of some sort...

If possible, it seemed he got even more panicky.

"I-I-I umm... I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't see you! I...!" his voice broke off again, his cheeks turned a shade of red as he looked down.

"Uh..." I mumbled.

"Um, I-I need to go, um... I'm sorry I hit you!" he apologized again.

"T-that's fine," I mumbled.

He nodded once more, flushed, and ran off in the opposite direction.

Huh. Um... I didn't really get what was happening there... huh... that did happen fast... that guy... he was so totally _freaked out_ or something. He looked like I would hit him with one of my tools if he didn't apologize or something... I didn't look that evil, did I? I _thought _I didn't... but... I guess one never knows...

I stepped cautiously through the door, and noticing that this was probably the Inn. I walked up to the counter, where a red-head stood with a cheerful expression.

"Hi!" she called to me. "You look new here. Did you take that farm?"

"Hi," I said to her. "The farm? Oh... ya, I did."

"Cool!" she said, smiling at me. "My name's Ann, what's yours?"

"Claire," I told her, smiling slightly in return.

Her smile faltered slightly. I gazed at her quizzically.

"Anyway!" she continued, her face suddenly brightening. "So why'd you buy the farm?"

"I..." I faltered. I didn't really want to tell her I moved her to get over someone... and just to get a change of scenery. I wouldn't tell her... not yet...

"Oh!" she seemed to catch on. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked..."

"No... it's fine...," I replied swiftly and softly, looking down.

Ann opened her mouth to say something back, but she was stopped by an "ANN!"

"Hold on a sec," she told me. "Hold on Dad!"

"What?"

"Wait!"

"_What?"_

"Ugh... JUST COME OUT HERE!" Ann yelled loud enough for that person to hear.

He came running out. "Ann, could you help...?" he cut off when he saw me. "Oh. Hello. You must be new here. I'm Doug. You are?"

I'm Claire. I bought the farm here..."

He chuckled. "Oh yes... that's right. Thought I heard Ann saying something about that...," he said, still chuckling to himself.

Ann seemed to have flushed a faint pink.

"Dad!" she complained.

He chuckled again. "So Claire... how would you like to have a meal here? Free of charge," he added, as I reached toward my wallet. "Under one condition though."

I looked at him questioningly.

"You come back here to visit Ann-I'm sure she'll like the company!"

"Dad!" Ann flushed a soft pink. "Stop it!"

I smiled. A little bit. Ann seemed like a very likeable person. I'd need a good friend or two.

"Sure," I promised, smiling at Ann.

She returned it with a grin. Doug went back into the kitchen, promising that my meal would be out soon.

I waited while Ann told me to sit down somewhere. A few minutes after I was there, he came out and set a dish with a drink in front of me. It did look good...

"Here you are," he said with a jovial smile. "Grape juice and cheese fondue!"

I ate it. Real fast. I didn't realize I was that hungry. And it was so _good._

"Thanks," I sighed contently. "That was really good!"

Doug just laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

I smiled and waved, and left the Inn. As I was going to walk around the corner, someone called my name.

"Claire! Wait for meeeee!" she yelled.

I turned around and Ann almost smashed into me.

"Hey," I said, giggling. "What's up?"

She grinned. "Do you want me to introduce you to everyone?" she asked exuberantly. "I'll come with you!"

"Sure, but don't you have a job?"

She shrugged. "My dad said I could come with you. I'm sure my dad can handle the very-few-customers that we get there. You know, the town is only so small," she informed me.

I smiled. "All right. Let's go."

She took my hand, leading me.

"Ooh... let's go and meet Mary! And Karen and Cliff and Rick and Popuri and-"

"Okay, Ann. Let's go."

She grinned again and towed me off into the direction of a farm.

--

"I'll see you later, Claire, Ann," Mary said quietly, waving as we left the library.

"Wasn't that cool, Claire?" Ann asked me. "We've met almost _everybody _now!" she grinned, then it faltered abruptly.

I noticed the change... just like last time...

"Ann? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing," she answered innocently.

I scrutinized her. "Are you sure? You look kind of... down... all of a sudden..."

"It's nothing," she assured me with a little more force. "Come on, let's go."

"But Ann-"

Her jovial mood was back. "Come on Claire, let's gooooo!! We-well, _you,_-still have to meet Gray and Saibara!"

I sighed and cringed slightly as grabbed my wrist and pulled me. Ow... she had one strong grip... I don't think I could get out of it even if I tried to.

--

The days seemed to fly by. Days became weeks... my schedule was fairly simple. I usually got the farm work done, and then I either went to the Inn to talk to Ann, or to the library to read some novels, and talk to Mary. Or, sometimes, like today, we'd all go over to Mary's library when it was closed so that we couldn't be disturbed by others. (It was Ann's idea.)

Overall, Mary was pretty nice, she was fairly shy and quiet too, and I enjoyed her friendship. I liked reading novels, and she helped me pick out a few good ones.

Ann was just as bubbly as ever, and geez, did she have a _grip!_ She was entertaining to be around, and nice person. So, ya, I was having a fairly good time in Mineral Town so far, and it was about a week and a bit until summer was here.

And... there _were _some pretty cute guys here. One cuter than the rest... even though I thought that... I couldn't get over him that fast... well... having nice friends, and seeing cute guys kind of helps the fact of moving on.

I was fairly happy as I walked over to Mary's library today. It was another one of Ann's ideas. She said that it was an, "urgent meeting". Though "urgent" could mean just getting together and talking for the rest of the afternoon and evening, according to Ann. I wasn't complaining, it was pretty fun.

I was really getting used to this farming thing too. Get up, do morning stuff, water crops/harvest crops. I really needed to get some animals too. Cows, sheep, and chickens was what I needed, and I almost had enough to get some... and... I now had a bathroom (made by Gotz) in my house, thankfully... my next goal was a kitchen.

I stepped into Mary's library, closing the door behind me.

"Oh! Ann? Claire?"

"Just Claire," I answered her softly.

"Oh, hi Claire! Do you know when Ann's coming?" she asked, as she came down the stairs, adjusting her glasses.

"She said around twelve-thirty...," I told her. I looked at my watch. "Oh... she should be here in about... ten minutes or so..."

"You know, Ann's a nice friend and all, but sometimes, she takes things waay out of control," Mary giggled.

"Ah," I smiled slightly. "I know... it's so Ann. She sets a time and place to do one of these, "urgent meetings", and she ends up coming late." I giggled along with Mary.

We stopped after a little.

"So, do you enjoy summer?" I asked. "The month's coming so soon... in a week and a bit?"

"Oh, yes, summer is a wonderful season... though sometimes, it's just _too _warm out, and I can't get anything done...,' she sighed. "What about you?" she asked me curiously.

"Ah, summer's all right. Like you said, sometimes, it's too warm, but sometimes the hot weather is nice..."

A sudden flurry of wind and the sound of the door opening made me look over in that direction.

"No way. Ann is _five minutes early?_" I asked incredulously.

Mary giggled. "We were prepared to wait longer," she told her between giggles.

"Ha ha. Very funny. I'm glad you have _so_ much confidence in me." She rolled her eyes. "I _am_ known to make early appearances."

We both giggled. Then, after a bit, our giggles slowly died down.

"So, why'd you want us here, Ann?" Mary questioned.

"Well...," she started.

"WAIT! Is it because you wanted to talk about... hmm-"

Ann silenced Mary with a look.

"As I was _saying,_ before I was _so _rudely interrupted," she teased, then continued, "how about a sleep over at my place? Tonight?"

We stared blankly at her. We snapped out of it after a few seconds.

"Oh... um... all right. Just let me go inform my parents about this, they'll probably agree," Mary was the first to speak.

I nodded. "I'm in."

Ann grinned at both of us.

"Good thing you guys agreed," she said sheepishly.

"Why?"

"I-uh... already set up everything... and cleaned everything..."

Mary rolled her eyes. "As usual, always prepared."

I laughed. "What about the food? Just going to leave it rot there?"

"NO! I put it away... it's ready at any given time," she said, with a gleam in her eye.

--

"See you tonight!" I called to Ann and Mary as I walked out onto the cobblestone path.

"We _will_ talk about that tonight, Claire," Ann told me sternly. "You can't get away with 'Uhhh's' and 'umm's' and 'no I don't's'!' I understand _perfectly _well why you were acting like that a few weeks ago with Gray!" She paused. Even if you don't confirm it, I will have my assumptions." She grinned evilly.

I rolled my eyes. "If you know, why won't you give up?" I asked calmly, no hope in my voice.

She smirked evilly at me. "It's more fun this way to make you admit it."

I rolled my eyes. Mary smiled at me and waved. She, unlike Ann, didn't bug me.

I closed the door, and stepped out. A gentle breeze tousled my hair behind me. The streetlamps were not on yet, but they would be soon. I had about two hours until Ann's impromptu sleepover at the Inn. I needed to go and get some stuff from my house... and try to distract Ann from the topic of Gray. I knew I was being childish about it... but I _wouldn't_ confirm it to Ann...

I walked farther, quickening my pace, but to an extent. My ankle still bothered me.

What happened next did nothing to help my ankle. I bumped into something or someone _hard._ Or maybe that something or someone just bumped into me hard. Whatever it was, it was going at a fast pace. The impact of it sent me flying down to the pavement.

"Ah!" I complained, bracing myself quickly for the pain that would be coming when I hit the ground. It never came. I felt a pair of warm, calloused hands grab me by my shoulders and set me gently onto my feet instead.

Um... what? What happened?

I opened my eyes to see Gray in front of me.

I flushed red. Ugh. _Why _did I have to humiliate myself in front of _him?_ Curse my stupid klutziness! I hoped that Ann wasn't watching...

He gazed at me, cerulean eyes piercing into my dull blue ones.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"I-I..."

I was about to tell him that I was fine, but that's when I realized the throbbing pain in my right ankle. Great. It was probably sprained really badly now.

"I-I'm fine," I told him No need for him to worry over my stupid klutziness, and waste his time most likely fixing my sprain (the Clinic was closed)... Though he _did _find out about my klutziness when I first met him a few weeks ago...

_Ann dragged me over to the blacksmiths last._ _We entered the door, into a stuffy, claustrophobic room. There were faint scents of metal... burning metal..._

"_GRAY!" an old-looking man addressed him._

"_What!?"_

"_Pay attention to you work!" he yelled. _

_Gray fumbled with his tools; slowly the scent of over burnt metal filled the room._

"_Hi, Saibara! Hi, Gray!" Ann said to get their attention._

_The two looked up. Gray seemed to flush a tiny bit, but Saibara was unfazed. _

"_Hello, Ann," he greeted her. "And who might this be?" he gestured toward me._

"_Hi. I'm Claire," I answered him. _

_Saibara turned around. "Gray! You could at least say your greetings to the young lady here!"_

_He grumbled something incoherent; then he looked up at me. _

"_Hi," he mumbled, then quickly seemed fascinated by the messed-up-looking tool on the table. He pulled his hat so the front part of it covered his eyes._

_Saibara grumbled something along the lines of 'sorry' and 'doesn't say much'._

_Little did I know that he doesn't say much, but yet he did so much... _

_There was a loud clattering sound, and the distorted-looking tool fell onto the ground a couple of paces ahead of me. _

"_Crap," Gray muttered, gazing at the tool, seeming to decide whether or not he should pick it up or not._

_I walked forward to offer to pick it up, and I tripped. (Probably on my own feet-there was nothing on the floor). My hand collided into the worktable as I fell, and the tool pressed uncomfortably into my wrist, my head hit the hard floor _hard. _Blackness enveloped me... _

_--_

"_Ugh...," I mumbled, moving._

"_Claire!" Ann's voice was frantic. "Are you okay?"_

_I heard another gruff voice beside me. _

"_I think she's okay... just a sprain and a few bruises," he said softly. "It's badly sprained though...". _

_I opened my eyes, and tried to shoot myself up, then recoiled quickly as pain shot through my head and arm. _

"_Ow..."_

_That's when I realized, that I was still in the little claustrophobic, metal-ish smelling room. _

"_W-what...? I... where-?" I muttered, but Ann stopped me._

"_You just passed out," she informed me._

"_Passed... out...? Oh... how... how long was I out?"_

"_Just a couple of minutes. Not too long," she told me, her worried voice ceasing a bit. _

_I sat up and leaned against the wall, with the help of Ann. Surprisingly, Gray was there too, along with Saibara... a random thought passed through me... why wasn't I at the clinic if everyone had a freaked out expression? _

_Then I felt gentle fingers brush along my wrist. I flinched, startled. _

_Gray looked up, and pulled his hand back. "S-sorry," he mumbled. "I told you we should've brought her to the Clinic instead!" he said to Saibara._

_Saibara shook his head. "The Clinic isn't open now, and haven't you wanted to test out your medical skills? That's why you took schooling for it you know," he finished._

_Hmm? Gray... a doctor? He looked more like a blacksmith to me. Huh. Maybe he did both jobs... oh well. My head was throbbing too much anyway; it made thinking into things hard._

"_Are you... are you a doctor too?" I blurted out, instinctively, and then I realized how _stupid _that must have sounded. I bit my lip._

_He looked surprised at my question. "Not quite," he mumbled. "But I do know more than an average person would at finding sprains and knowledge about medicine, but much less than Doctor Tim," he added. _

"_Oh."_

"_Um... if you don't mind... can I look at your wrist...?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly. "Or, you know, if you don't want me to do it, I'll go get the Doctor and Elli... the Clinic is locked, but I think I'll be able to get in somehow..."_

"_Um.. no, it's fine. You can do it if it's easier for you to." I extended my arm out to him. He carefully took my wrist, and started prodding at it gently. Finding, I supposed, where the sprain was exactly. _

_His fingers brushed over the spot that hurt the most, and I think he must have seen my minute flinching, because he nodded, grabbed a tensor bandage, and started wrapping it around my wrist. _

"_This will help support your sprain," he told me. "You should ice it though. Take off the bandage at night when you go to sleep, ice it, then put it back on. Sprains take a long time to heal."_

_I nodded. Dang, how was I supposed to do my farm work now...?_

_He smirked at me. "I'm guessing you're wondering how you'd perform farm work," he said, as if he could read my mind. "Well... I don't think you can... if you use your right hand, you might re-sprain it. It'll take longer to heal. You could try your left hand, or get someone to help you..." he trailed off._

"_I-uh... o-okay," I stuttered, catching his gaze._

_It was so quiet for a moment that I didn't know Ann was there... until she started giggling. I caught her eye, and there was a mischievous grin on her face, and her eyes gleamed. Gray stared at her blankly. I'm sure I looked the same. She shot me a knowing glance, and stopped giggling after I sent her a glare. _

_Gray took a step back. _

"_Thank you," I told him, my voice full of gratitude. _

_He just nodded, cerulean eyes gazing into mine... I felt my face redden, and I looked away, letting my curtain of blond hair cover my cheeks. From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw him flush and walked swiftly to the other room._

_With the remainder of my blush fading, I got up slowly, and glanced at Ann. She giggled at me, her eyes sparkling. _

"_D-don't get any ideas...!"_

_She just grinned in response._

Ah... it made me wonder...

Gray scrutinized me and said, "Claire? A-are you okay...?"

The searing pain through my ankle shot through when I applied force to it, which, in turn, snapped me out of my reverie.

I bit my lip, removing weight from my right foot, trying to distract myself from the pain fading slowly...

"F-fine," I answered him.

I hoped that his quick eyes didn't catch my stress.

He scrutinized me, ocean blue eyes flickering over to my ankle and back to my face.

"I... don't think so," he said softly. "Can you walk?"

"Y-yes! I-I'm fine! I can walk perfectly fi-" I cut off, attempting to walk, but failing. Ugh. The injury was worse than I thought.

I tumbled forward, towards the pavement again, losing my balance as pain shot through my ankle again.

"Ahh!"

"Hmm," he mumbled as he gripped my shoulders again before I hit the ground.

I blushed, red colouring my cheeks.

"You sprained it, didn't you?" he accused me in a rough tone.

I looked down, letting my blond hair cover my face.

"No, I-I'm fine... I tripped..."

He gazed at me, skeptical.

"I know you sprained you ankle! Don't try hiding it!" he accused me.

I flinched.

"I... did..." I admitted, not fully wanting to say it.

He began with a softer tone. "Do you want me to clean it up, or do you want me to bring you to the clinic?"

I blushed. I wanted him to do it... but... that would sound weird, wouldn't it, coming from a girl that he barely knows? I don't even know why he's stood here with me for this long... why he even offered to fix it up for me was beyond my knowledge...

"C-can you do it...?" I wasn't quite able to meet his gaze when I said this.

He nodded, and then paused. "Hmm... maybe it's best for the Doctor to do it..." he mused.

"No!" I blurted out. I regretted saying it as soon as it was out. _Why _did I just do that? I hope he didn't make too much of that comment... I cringed internally.

He looked at me, a strange expression on his face.

"I-I-I mean, uh... f-fine, I guess Doctor Tim could do it...," I finished, eyes downcast. "Clinic's open this time," I tried to joke weakly.

"Oh," he said in the strangest tone. I couldn't identify it... "If... if that's what you want..."

My head whirled back up.

"Ah...! But... but... you know... I... um...," I swallowed. He waited patiently. "I... would like you to do it..." I couldn't keep eye contact with him when I said it. "But... um... if you... you know, don't want to, I-I can't really force you to, so I guess I could go to the Clinic," I babbled a little. The result of that? I blushed again; a dark red coloured my cheeks this time.

I was looking downward, so it shocked me when he took my hand and wound it around his shoulder, and put his other hand around my waist, helping me walk.

"Come on then," he said. "Be careful not to walk too much on the injured ankle... you can lean on me..."

He helped me hobble toward my farm. I swear I saw a flash of a red-head and a smirk when I looked behind me.

* * *

**Chapter 2 is completed. :) I hope it didn't suck too much... so please, tell me what you thought of it! (In a form of a review... :)). **

**I think I kinda messed with Gray's character a little bit. I'm not sure, but I think I made him a bit nicer than he usually is...****Heh... and apparently, I gave Gray a head full of more-than-average medical knowledge. Let me know what you think of that. XD**


	3. No Place to Hide

**Here goes Chapter 3!**

**Anyway... I had an interesting plot bunny in my head... and I might put it into action in later chapters. **

**A fluff-ish like filled chapter. Hope I didn't go overboard... **

**Sorry this took a little bit to get out... it was actually done a little while ago, it's just that I wasn't too happy with it. So I left it, struggling to think of some better way... -sigh- I ended up just leaving it the way it is though... **

**Chapter time!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: No Place to Hide**

I'll admit... having sprains and injuries isn't so bad when you have Gray fixing you up. He was saving the doctor here plenty of work. Heh... though, sometimes I did wonder if I annoyed him. I tried asking him a few times... he just waved it off like it was nothing, and continued attending to my injuries.

It was interesting, really. He never really did say that much when he was with me at first. He's opened up a_ little_ now. He smiles a bit more, talks a bit more, but that's about it. He's still a bit shy, but sometimes, a more exuberant demeanor breaks through his bashfulness. What surprised me though, was when he said that he'd come back every once and a while to check to see if I'd re-sprained the sprain or something... he told me that I could get sprains really easily, and that I should be more careful.

And occasionally, I wondered, "Where did all this concern come from?"

Then meanwhile, Ann is all excited and hyper and every time she sees me she just gives me this wicked grin and this look gleams in her eye. I think she probably let Mary know too, because she gives me those timid grins of hers... we haven't had much time to talk to one another lately, and Ann hadn't been assigning those "meetings" at Mary's library. Our sleepover was tomorrow, so she'll probably pester me then... I sighed. Everyone seemed so busy.

That is, everyone except for Gray, it seemed.

I would have thought that he would be super busy with all his tool-fixing at the blacksmith shop, but he can also come here to tend to my injuries, and even come to _check up _on them. I didn't mind; I enjoyed his visits, though I'm not sure if he did or not.

_If he didn't like it, then obviously, he wouldn't be here, _my mind thought by itself. _Stop being so negative!_

"Umm... your ankle is fine," Gray stated, while wrapping the tensor bandage back around it. He stopped suddenly.

My quizzical glance made him speak up.

"Am I wrapping it too tightly?"

I was startled. A little surprised, that he really did care that much. After all, I was just some city girl that moved into town a few weeks ago, that he still almost barely knew...

"I-it's fine," I answered, slightly shaken.

He nodded, and then continued to wrap it around the sprain. A small smile seemed to be tugging on the corners of his mouth.

I gazed at him. His hat was off today; the wind coming from the window played with his reddish-brown hair. His hat was sitting on my table. His sapphire eyes sparkled; I could see it even when he was looking down. His eyes flickered upward from time to time, but the movement was too fast for me to be certain of it. He finished quickly with my ankle, told me it was healing very well, and that it was almost completely healed, then motioned for my wrist.

I probably didn't notice his motioning, because he took it gently from where it was sitting on my lap. He moved a bit closer too, and started examining it with gentle care. As his fingers moved over my wrist, I felt my cheeks turn a shade of pink, and I turned my head slightly so that he couldn't see. He probably noticed the heat though, which flooded through wrist into my hand... _Why was I acting like this? I... did I really...? _

He released his grip. I was still looking downward, the remainder of my blush fading. I assumed he was done, but when I looked up, he was staring at me. I blushed, quickly looked back down, and noticed that the tensor bandage wasn't on my wrist, and that he was still supporting it with his hand.

I peeked up again, under my eyelashes and his eyes were downcast again, his fingers tenderly touching the spot where the stabbing pain was.

"Does it hurt more than before?" he asked softly.

"A-a little bit," I answered, my blush finally fading.

"I think you re-sprained it," he informed me. "It was almost healed too..." he said so quietly that I thought he would be talking to himself.

It was quiet in the house now. The only sound heard was the wind humming quietly through the window. Occasionally, I wondered if he could actually feel the heat in my hand/wrist area, because I blushed enough...

"Done," he said. "It'll take longer to heal now though," he commented.

"Thanks!"

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard... let the sprain heal...," he said, his eyes distant.

"Okay. I-"

I stopped short when I looked up and his eyes flickered to my face, catching my eye. They weren't so distant anymore. In fact, there were rather intense... I expected either him or me to look away, but he didn't and I _couldn't._ His eyes were so deep... and so _blue._ It wasn't a sky blue or a really dark blue... more like a brilliant cerulean, the colour that you would find in the depths of the ocean...a hypnotic blue...

I didn't know how long this was going on, but it must have been a little while, because he finally tore his gaze away from me, and looked elsewhere, while sighing quietly. I was still dazed.

"I'd better go," he spoke in a quiet tone.

"Oh. I-um... o-okay. T-thanks for this," I said weakly, as I held up my wrist. I was still recovering from _that._ What exactly happened anyway?

He smiled slightly and then left. I heard the door close with a quiet "click" behind me. I sat down with a sigh, and thought over my very recent actions. What _was _that? How long were we staring like that for? And _why_was I so flustered that I couldn't even speak properly after I just stared at him? Gah, too many questions, too little answers... and to make things more complicated, the window was open too. I hope no one was on the farm... but knowing my luck, someone probably was there.

A loud knocking noise rapped on my door, which interrupted my musing. I jumped up, startled. Heh. There _was _someone on my farm.

"HEY! OPEN THE DOOR, CLAIRE! I _KNOW _THAT YOU'RE IN THERE!" a very familiar voice yelled out.

_What's Ann doing here?_ I thought to myself.

I opened the door, and was almost smashed into by Ann, who was racing into my house at top speed. Mary trailed behind.

"Ann!" I complained. "You almost hit me! Don't run around so fast!"

"Suck it up," she retorted, a massive grin plastered onto her face, while her eyes danced. "You've had me knocking _forever_, too." She made her way over to my chairs, which were still left in a rather awkward position, due to Gray's check-up session. That's when I noticed his blue UMA hat still on the table... he must have forgotten it...

Mary entered behind her, gave me a "hi" and sat down. I saw her eyes flicker towards the hat and back to me.

"So... what's this all about?" I asked them, curious, though I thought I already knew. "I thought you guys were busy."

The red-head composed her expression. "Claire, I never thought of you to be the type of person to like to flaunt," she replied.

"Uhh... normally, I don't... What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

A grin played on the corners of her mouth. Mary managed a smirk, though it looked kind of forced...

Ann exploded. "WHAT WAS _GRAY_, OF ALL PEOPLE, DOING IN _HERE!?_"

"He was-" I tried to explain, but reconsidered. Ann didn't know about Gray checking up on my sprains.

"You shouldn't try hiding such things from us, Claire. It is our duty, as friends, to help you with... these types of relationships. Why didn't you tell us? We-"

"Ann."

She stopped, her hand still making gesturing motions.

"Relax, okay? We're not... like that. He was only over because he wanted to see if I re-sprained anything. He checked my wrist and ankle. That's it. Okay? Nothing's happening!" I told her quickly, in case she started talking about it again.

"N-nothing happened?" she asked, trying to hide her immense disappointment, but failing miserably. She looked absolutely crestfallen. "You don't... like him or anything?"

"Nothing happened, nothing is happening," I answered her, trying to avoid the question that was probably inevitable.

"So you don't like-"

"Ahh!"

Mary toppled over onto the ground, the chair she was occupying landed on top of her and I heard a small crack... which might have been the chair or Mary.

"MARY!" Ann and I shouted out in unison. We went over to her, and Ann took the chair off of her.

"Mary? Are you okay? Anything broken?" Ann asked frantically. Her mood reminded me of my first day here when I sprained my wrist...

I kneeled down next to Ann, and helped Mary up into a sitting position.

"Did you sprain anything?" I asked her.

"No, no, I think I'm fine," she answered me.

"We should get you to the Clinic, Mary!" Ann panicked, helping her back onto her feet. "Come on Claire! Help me get her there!"

"No, no, there's no need-!"

"We're going," Ann hissed.

"Uh, Ann? The Clinic isn't open anymore," I told her.

"What?"

"It's all right, Ann, there was no need to visit the Clinic anyway, I'm fine," Mary stated sensibly, heading towards sitting down on the chair, but Ann pulled her back down to the floor.

"We _could_ always-"

A knock on the door silenced us all.

"Um... hold on a sec!" I called toward the general direction of the doorway.

I got up, and opened the door.

"Oh, um... hi Gray," I mumbled. "Um... come in..." I flushed... which reminded me that I needed to think about that... what _had _happened there? I... I never had that type of thing with... _him_ before... it was... different... why was I fussing over something so... so minor? What was wrong with me?

Gray stepped into my house, quick eyes sweeping the scene before him. A chair was lying on its back on the floor, Mary was in a sitting position, and Ann was clinging to her shoulders, trying, I assumed, to make her stand up... even though she was the one to pull her back down... odd...

"Um... sorry... I was interrupting something, I guess... I'll leave," he said quickly in a gruff tone, turning around.

"N-no! It's fine!" I stammered.

He paused, then turned to look at me with his cerulean eyes...

"I-uh-um... if-if you have to leave, then could you wait one bit first? You forgot your hat here earlier this afternoon..." I strode to the table, and picked up his blue UMA hat and held it out to him.

That's when I noticed, it was irrationally quiet in this room. My eyes scanned the room. Ann and Mary were... gone? Where did they go? My gaze lingered over the bathroom. They were probably in there, unless they found some way to sneak out the door and pass Gray's quick eyes.

_Or maybe they turned invisible... _

What was I thinking? Maybe too much sci-fi reading...

He gazed at me again, his blue eyes penetrating. I could see curiosity in his eyes, but I didn't know what for...

As he reached for his hat, my hand slipped. The hat slipped out of my grip, and I tried to reach it again, and apparently he tried the same. The hat slipped out of his grip, and I don't know how, but he ended up clasping onto my hand instead.

_Um..._

Surprise was only one element of emotion for a few seconds, and we slowly realized what happened. He flushed red, but surprisingly, he didn't release his grip. He lowered our interlocked hands, then let go, and titled his head so that I couldn't see his face. I heard him mumble something about "bad for the sprain". I blushed too, looking downward, and letting my blond hair cover my face. The hand that was in his grip was hanging loosely at my side, still warm.

"S-sorry," he muttered, facing my direction again, but taking fascination at my wooden floor.

"D-don't be. I, um... sorry I reached for it, I... really suck at catching, I... I'm really all butterfingers when it comes to things like this," I mumbled back. I peeked back up, the redness in my cheeks almost gone. He looked up at me too, and I was caught in his beautiful blue gaze...

"Um..." he rubbed the nape of his neck. "You shouldn't be... sorry either... um..." He reached down to pick up his hat, and held it in his hands a bit. It looked like he was considering something. He closed his eyes, then put it back onto his head. His eyes opened again.

"Um... ya... sorry about that," he said in a more of a collected, but gruff voice.

"N-no! I-it's fine!" I answered, rather impulsively, I might add.

A smile tugged on his lips. "You've been saying that a lot lately," he said in an amused tone.

"I..." Embarrassed, I blushed, and looked away. "S-sorry!" I stammered, looking back at him.

"No... it's fine," he assured me, taking my (apparently new trademark line) and using it a suddenly much gentler voice that before.

An uncomfortable silence issued. I shifted awkwardly, looking down. The silence lasted so long that the sound of nothing was beginning to hurt my ears. (Ya, I'm weird, I know.)

"Um... I have to go...," he mumbled awkwardly, the gruffness back in his voice. He headed towards the door. "Thanks for the hat."

I looked up, nodded, and waved. He closed the door with a gentle "click". I sighed and plopped down onto a chair. I needed to think. I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. Ughh... I was so tired... and why did I have to act so _stupid_ around him? _Why _did I keep saying that stupid line over and over? It was rather impulsive, but why-

"Claire?"

My head whirled up. "Eh?"

Ann and Mary stepped out from the bathroom, as I had guessed. I totally forgot that they were there...

"H-hi," I told them. "How did you even get in there without anyone noticing?"

Ann smirked, while Mary played with her braid, looking slightly... uncomfortable?

"I _am _Ann you know," she stated, grinning. "And we heard _all_ of that, by the way, Claire." A devious smile appeared on her lips as she sat down next to me. Mary took the seat next to her.

I tried to change topics. "Are you okay though, Mary?"

"I'm fine. I didn't sprain anything, I just have a few bruises," she said briskly. I was a little surprised at her tone. What was bothering her?

"Mary? Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah, Mary, you've been kinda down and brisk since we got here. What's wrong?" Ann questioned.

I sighed internally in relief. Ann was easily distracted... or so I thought.

"I-it's nothing!" she answered, in a rather panicky voice in my opinion.

"Are you sure? Even when we were hiding in the bathroom, you didn't even try to listen-"

"UGH, ANN! You were listening?" I interrupted her.

She grinned wickedly. "Yes, and we will discuss that later." She turned back to Mary. "As I was saying, you didn't listen; you stood far away from the door! You-"

"I know what I did, Ann!" she shouted, which was very out-of-character for her. She was usually so soft-spoken... something must be up. "You don't need to remind me!"

"What's wrong Mary?" I asked. "Please tell us, maybe we'll be able to help," I told her coaxingly.

"It's nothing," she repeated. "I-I need to go. I'll see you later Ann and ...Claire." She rose and swiftly exited, the door slamming shut behind her.

I was speechless. I've never seen Mary act so bold. Ann was sighing, exasperated.

"Why does she say it's nothing when it so _obviously _isn't?" she asked to nobody in particular.

"Did I do something?" I asked. Maybe I did do something. Something that made her so upset but I didn't even know it... hmm... wait... did... did Mary like Gray? It was certainly a possibility. She seemed so cold with me lately. But... what did that have to do with me? Nothing really happened this afternoon except for a bit of embarrassing events, and social visit... I guess I liked him a little... did it really show that much? I cringed. That wouldn't be good...

Ann seemed to ponder my question. Then her face lit up.

"Claire..."

"Hmm?" I looked up.

"Do you think that Mary might like Gray?"

"I... think it might be a possibility... but... why would she be so... cold towards me for that? The reasoning doesn't make much... sense..." Something clicked. The answer was so obvious I wondered what was wrong with me.

"Hm...," Ann mused. "Well, we _did_ see you and Gray together in your house earlier this afternoon, and while we were hiding in the bathroom, you could practically _tell_ that something was going on, and _hear _that you were blushing..."

"Huh!? I-!" I cut off, flushing slightly. "H-how can you _hear_ someone blushing, Ann? It's an action, not a sound by any means!"

A grin played on her lips. "I know these things, Claire," she said mysteriously. "I have plenty of practice..."

I stared at her. Sometimes Ann freaked me out. At such times, I wonder occasionally if she really is just that "waitress at the Inn" that "just serves food and chats up a storm with people." Maybe she had a secret ploy...

_Too much sci-fi, Claire! _My mind told me.

All right then... really, she was just good friend that knew people well... or maybe I was just easy to read. There. That sounded like a more logical explanation. Heh.

"But back to business!" Ann said loudly. "Do you or do you not like Gray?"

"W-what!?"

She smirked. "You heard me."

"I... I refuse to answer that question," I stated, knowing that she'll probably get it out of me eventually. I was a terrible liar.

Her smirk turned into a fully fledged grin. "Ah... so you do," she commented. "Well, that changes things a bit. It would be a bit troublesome if Mary _did _like him, but-"

"ANN! I never said that I did!" I shouted, blushing.

"You did. In a subtle way, without even knowing it, apparently," she said slyly, then continued, "Obviously, if you didn't want to answer, then you do like him. If you answered my question as the negative, well... I would have gotten you to admit it anyway... one way or another." She grinned evilly, as her eyes danced. I didn't doubt her for one second. "So basically, you were in a lose-lose situation."

"I never exactly said I did," I said, rather childishly, holding on to a last thread of hope.

Ann rolled her eyes. "Stop being so childish, Claire. I know you do, and I _will_ make you admit it, one way or another; whether by force, duress, or bribing..."

I gaped at her. "Isn't that a teeny bit over-dramatic here?"

"No," she answered. What made me stare at her incredulously was how she was able to answer it so composed, so sensible sounding... "Anyway, for the sake of you two not having a cat fight over a guy, you'd better hope that she doesn't like him. I've always thought she liked someone else...," she mumbled the last part.

"Wait a minute," I stopped her. "She hasn't told you who she likes? Not at all? Even though you probably grew up here together? And now you're about nineteen to twenty years old and she _never ever_ told you?"

"Uh... should she have?"

"I-I just thought... you've known each other for so long... and she's never told her best friend about it?"

"Mary's pretty reserved on that topic. She doesn't say much about it," Ann mumbled.

"Hm..."

"Our sleepover is tomorrow too," Ann sighed. "We'd better get things sorted out today, or else this is going to be awkward..."

I sighed.

"Let's go, Claire."

I stared at her blankly. "Where?"

"The library," she sighed, as she pulled me out the door.

--

The library was quiet when we got in. The door was unlocked, but Mary wasn't at her usual spot at the desk. Where...?

"Mary?" Ann called tentatively.

I thought it might be best not to add my call into the search if that really was the reason...

"Mary?" Ann called again. "Where are you?"

No answer.

"Come out!" Ann shouted as she sprinted upstairs. "Check around here," she said to me.

I looked around the ground floor. There wasn't really much to look at down here; Ann had the bigger job...

"She's not here," Ann told me, coming back down the steps as I finished looking under the desk. "Hmm... maybe she's next door...? Let's go check."

I walked out of the library with Ann and knocked on the door right beside it. It was Anna who answered.

"Hi girls. How are you?" she asked, a friendly smile highlighting her features.

"Hey. We were just wondering... do you know where Mary is?" Ann did all the asking here.

Anna frowned, perplexed. "I thought she was with you."

Ann and I shook our heads frantically.

"Hmm... maybe she's out on Mother's Hill. She likes to go there sometimes. Something about plants," she giggled. "She's taken that side of her father."

"Mother's Hill?" Ann asked.

"Yes, I think so. She's probably fine... it's not even dark yet. I wouldn't worry too much." She smiled.

"Thanks, Anna," Ann spoke quickly.

"I'll see you girls later," she replied, then closed the door.

Ann and I started walking back down towards the path that led to Mother's Hill.

"Where do you think she went?" I asked her. "I don't really think that she's at Mother's Hill. It's fairly cold out, considering how it's a week into summer now, and Mary absolutely loathes cold weather..."

"Except for snow," Ann reminded me. "But speaking of summer... Kai hasn't come here yet... wonder what's up with that?"

It's been a while since I had a reaction like this, but I guess it went dormant and intensified.

"K-Kai?" I asked tentatively. "Who's Kai?" I had a sinking feeling I might know who it is though, knowing my luck. My mind automatically shied away from the idea though.

_You don't even know if it's the same person or not! _My mind told myself before I could have a panic attack._ There are _many _people named Kai in this world! It's probably not him, it's probably not him... _

This calmed me slightly.

I think I must have stopped in my tracks, because Ann looked at me, concern in her eyes.

"Who's Kai?" I repeated numbly, trying to add the correct emotion into my voice: interest, wonder.

"He-he's a traveller. He-he comes around to Mineral Town every summer, usually on the first day, and leaves at the end of the season. The small shack down at the beach is his. Um..." she stopped in thought. "I think he said that he used to come here for a business or something..."

"So he doesn't come here anymore?"

"I... no, he still comes. Last year, I pestered him about it again, and all he said was, "It's just for... a business, Ann. I'm doing my best for it..." I don't really understand it but-" she stopped short, staring at me.

"C-Claire? Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes, leaning back against the Winery wall, blanching.

"C-Claire? What's wrong? Are you okay? Speak to me!"

Her sudden frantic-ness freaked me out a little.

I opened my eyes, saying, "Fine, Ann... fine... don't get too panicky."

"What happened?" she demanded.

"I... just have... a headache... that's all...," I lied, hoping that she would buy it.

She didn't seem convinced, but she let it slide. "All right... if you say so..."

I forced myself to keep walking, wondering why I felt this way. I thought I was almost over him... I guess... ugh, I don't know! I had too many different emotions bottled up inside me, and needed time to think it all through. Too many different feelings...

Ann seemed desperate to get rid of my "headache". I'm sure she didn't buy it, I think she was too occupied to press further.

"S-so, ya, Kai comes every year! He's awesome, I love to tease him. Since you're here now, you should come with me too! Mary comes with me also, but she doesn't talk as much to him. I see him trying to strike up conversations with her sometimes though. He's always wearing this silly purple bandana; he never takes it off-"

"Ann," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Please... stop." I closed my eyes painfully, stopping again, this time, at the entrance of my farm.

Ann panicked. "What... what did I say? Did I do something? I'm sorry, Claire! I didn't mean to! I-"

I put up my hand to stop her. It made me feel worse that she was apologizing frantically (and seriously meaning it) and it wasn't even close to her fault.

"Ann... it's not your fault," I managed to whisper. "I... need to..."

"Sleep?" she suggested quickly. "Go ahead, Claire. I'll find Mary." She hesitated. "I... don't know what happened," she spoke quietly, "but you seem... hurt by it, so I'll stay out of it, if you want me to. I need to know one thing though. Are you still okay for the sleepover tomorrow, or do you want me to move it?"

Huh. No reason for Ann to be disappointed.

"It's fine," I said in a slightly stronger voice. "Keep it. I'll be at the Inn at around four to five-ish tomorrow." My stronger voice faded into a whisper. "When did you want me to come?"

She looked at me, concerned. "Come at that time, come a bit later, it doesn't matter. Are you sure you're okay with the date though?" she asked carefully. "We could always move it."

I shook my head.

"All right," she said gently. "I'll see you later, Claire." she added a tentative wave and continued up another path to Mother's Hill.

I managed, somehow, to drag myself back to my house. I ended up curled up in my bed, overalls and all still on me. I seriously needed to sort myself out... I had too many questions, no answers...

Like, for example, why was I feeling this way? I thought I was almost done with Kai... the wave of depression threatened to pull me under, but I wouldn't succumb. Not yet, anyway. I tired to seek out an answer that sounded reasonable and matched the facts. Maybe I was right earlier... the feelings were so dormant... they emerged with a new intensity when mentioned... but why? I'm sure normal people didn't have this issue, why me? I wasn't hurt by thinking about him that much anymore... so...? Ughh... it was too hard to think out clearly. I struggled, trying to avoid the memory that kept coming to mind.

It didn't work. What Ann had said rang a bell... a small and painful one. I couldn't stop this one from engulfing me...

_Kai and I_ _sat on a bench in my backyard, enjoying the beautiful sunshine that was painting its way across the landscape. I leaned my head on his shoulder; his dark arm was wrapped around me. _

"_Beautiful, the weather, isn't it?" he asked me._

"_It's wonderful," I agreed with him. "I love the sun."_

_He laughed softly. It was a lovely sound. Gentle, warm... _

"_So do I, but you already knew that," he grinned at me, flashing a set a brilliant white teeth. "It goes so well with me, doesn't it?"_

_I giggled. It didn't take much to make me laugh, especially when it came to Kai. He could always make me laugh, even when I was crying... _

_I stiffened in his arms, tears sliding down my cheeks, making wet stains against my skin. Kai noticed immediately. _

"_What's wrong, Claire?" he asked softly, hugging me closer to him as he took one hand and brushed away the tears the lingered on my cheeks. "Shh..," he calmed me, rubbing my back with his hand. "What did I do?"_

_I shook my head, tears not stopping. "Do... do you..." I stopped. I couldn't ask him that. It was stupid of me to think that. Of course he did... why would he be here? I raised a hand and wiped the tears out of my eyes. I was stupid to even possibly think of that... _

"_N-nothing," I said, my voice cracking. I tried to control it. "You didn't do anything." I didn't succeed. _

_His hand cupped my chin as he pulled me around to face his direction. He tilted my face up gently, staring into my eyes. I tried to squirm away, but his grip held me in place. His chocolate brown eyes were gentle, brown hair dancing in the breeze. My face was coated once again with tears, and I tried to break his grip on me. He took both hands and placed them on either side of my face, with gentle pressure, holding me there. _

"_Tell me what's wrong," he whispered. "I hate seeing you so sad..." _

_I flinched. I was causing him pain... guilt was another emotion found. _

"_It-it's stupid," I whispered, trying desperately to avoid his gaze, which was rather hard when he was so close like this..._

"_Nothing that causes you pain is stupid," he whispered fiercely. "Please tell me." _

_I tried to break out of his hold again. He let me this time. I cradled my head in my hands as I spoke. I wasn't sure if he could hear me though. My question seemed stupid now, considering what he just said..._

"_I... sometimes I wonder... I...," I broke off, and tried again. "Do-do you really love me?" I managed to choke out. It wasn't exact, but at least it was close._

_It was silent for a few moments. _

_Then I felt him press me against him softly. He rubbed my back gently, soothing me._

"_Of course I do," he whispered in my ear. "How could you possibly think otherwise?"_

_I shook my head, which was against his chest. My tears were staining his shirt, but he didn't really seem to care. _

"_You just..." I cut off when he took my face in his hands and titled it gently, while he, in turned tilted his... he leaned in slowly... my breath hitched in my throat. _

_His lips met mine, as he pulled me closer towards him... his hand was on my back, as mine went around his neck, pulling him closer... Kai kissed me slowly, tenderly, then we slowly broke away. I was flushed, and a bit surprised. He'd never done something like that with me before. He seemed slightly flushed too; his tanned skin was slightly pink, while mine was a dark red. _

"_Does that answer your question?" he whispered softly in my ear. "It answers mine." With that, he pulled me closer again, and he kissed me softly again. _

_When we broke apart, I was even more flushed. He smiled gently at me, and pulled me against him, my face against his chest. I sighed contently as he hugged me. _

_It was amazing how he could make me feel better in just minutes... I was surprised... that he kissed me for the first time... it was so sweet and soft..._

"_Kai?" I asked tentatively after we sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. _

_He looked at me... lovingly. "Hm?"_

"_Can I get something? I have something for you..." I got out of his arms and went back into the house. I came back out with a box with a ribbon tied around it. I came back to him and placed it gently into his hand. "Open it," I requested._

"_Oooh a present?" he asked, grinning. "For lovely me?" _

_I rolled my eyes as he pulled the ribbon gently; it came off, and then lifted the lid of the box. A piece of purple fabric in a rectangular shape was inside. On it, there were mini pineapples sewn in random places; they were spaced out properly over the fabric._

"_It's a bandana. I made it for you," I answered his unspoken question. _

_He examined it over after he took it out. "Thank you, Claire," he told me. "It's awesome!" he yelled out, his inner silliness coming out. "I love pineapples!" He put it on._

"_You're going to wear it?" I asked._

"_Well, isn't that what this is for?" he asked incredulously. "It _is _a bandana, is it not? Bandanas are used on your head, right?"_

_I giggled. "I guess so."_

"_I'll wear it," he stated. "Don't worry; your bad sewing won't stop me."_

"_I-!" He stopped me by putting a finger to my lips. _

"_Shh," he hushed me._

"_You promise you'll wear it?" I asked through his finger, suddenly anxious. I didn't even know why..._

_He stared into my eyes for a moment. "I promise," he said sincerely, patting his newly acquired bandana._

I sighed, able to put the pain off. It was an annoying and hurtful feeling, that not as painful as before. He said he loved me then... I guess he didn't anymore... It all seemed so real back then... I truly thought that he meant it. He... left me because he wouldn't be in the city that much. What did he say? How long would he be in the city? I think it was a few weeks a year? Or was it days? I don't remember... I do remember, however, that he... didn't want me to get heart sick-ish over him. In other words, he thought that he left for my own good. Did... did he really? Or was the excuse of him not wanting me to be heart sick just a nice way of him telling me that he didn't love me anymore?

"_He's always wearing this silly purple bandana; he never takes it off-" _Ann had said. I wonder what she would have said if I didn't stop her right there. Did... did he tell her that I was the one that gave it to him? I can't believe he still wears that thing. Why doesn't he just take that stupid thing off? He obviously didn't care for _me_ anymore. Why have reminders? And... it had stupid pineapples on it!

I sighed and closed my eyes painfully, trying to block out the images that was causing me so much pain. The whole point of moving to Mineral Town was to try to forget about Kai, to relieve myself of some of the pain with new scenery. It wasn't so that he could come to this town, (annually, it seemed) and keeping hurting me, intentionally or not.

* * *

**Hee hee. Angsty ending there. Be slightly warned. The next chapter(s) may contain more angsty Claire.**

**I'll be up with another update hopefully soon. Key word: hopefully.**

**School starts in about a week! (Give or take a few days.) Noo... sigh Maybe if I'm feeling in a very... writing-ish like mood, you'll get another update before school starts. Probably unlikely though, but hey, I might just do it. :P **

**Review?**


	4. Reminders and Surprises

**SORRY SORRY!! I know this is super late-it's been a lot more than a month since I updated!! Let me explain one thing though. This particular chapter requires a bit of angst. And if I don't feel like writing angst, then it isn't going to turn out all that well. So I waited, but I still didn't feel like writing angst. Then I started to feel guilty that I left it out for so long, then decided that I'd attempt to write it, whether it's angsty or not. I hope it's not too bad. Eeeek! . And... along with homework, there was other stuff occupying me... –sigh- Days are too short, and teachers give way too much homework to do... sigh**

**Another note is that is sort of filler-ish. It's getting harder to sort out all the events that are going to happen, because I don't have enough free time to do so. So... ya, don't expect too many wonderful things from this one. XD If there are some typos or grammatical errors, SORRY!! I didn't fully read it over this time... I justed wanted to get it out; I figured you've already waited longe enough...**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone that reads and reviews this, it means so much to me!**

**Ah... I'll reply to reviews this way... it's easier than separately sending replies, and this way, I probably won't miss anyone by accident or something!... probably. xD**

**BeautifulAuthor****: **Here'syour update, hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!

**Ninny-na: **Thanks for your review! Here's the update. :)

**mandapanda84: **Thank you for your review, it's the reviews that keeps me going!

**Jenizaki: **Yes, that _would _be an awkward situation, wouldn't it? I don't think that's the case for this story though. What's Mary going to say? Well, I don't like to keep characters mad at each other for too long, so Mary isn't going to be all that mad. ahem Well... you'll see. XD Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope this doesn't disappoint you too much. .

**Miss Gray1994:** Angsty Claire is somewhat still here. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reviewing!

**monkeygirl82000: **I guess Doctor Gray is a bit weird-he's supposed to be a blacksmith, right? Kinda opposites, but I guess it doesn't matter too much. He can do both. Hehe... let's hope he grows on you then. :) Thanks very much for you review!

**lukeop1314: **Thanks for the review, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

**Chapter 4: Reminders and Surprises**

_Kai and I were in the park, it was a beautiful day out. The sky was a clear blue, with barely any clouds. Then sun let its rays shoot out spectacularly and paint the landscape with light. There was a soft, gentle breeze; it occasionally pushed my hair out, making it swish out from behind me, and in front of me. We were sitting on a mat, with a picnic basket in the middle, our hands occupied by holding sandwiches. Mine was a simple ham and cheese with lettuce. Kai had wanted ham and pineapples in his, until I told him how weird it would be to eat a sandwich with little bumps sticking out of the bread, and that the pineapples would all fall out. He freaked, then placed it as his side dish, just eating a sandwich with ham. _

"_I'm going to put a pineapple in my sandwich," he exclaimed to me and he opened his sandwich and stuck in one piece of pineapple for testing. He bit into it, chewing slowly. I rolled my eyes. It was technically the same as taking a bite of the sandwich then taking a slice of pineapple, except if it was in a sandwich it would probably fall out. "Delicious!" he told me, and wide grin spreading across his face, revealing white teeth. _

_I loved his smiles. They could make me laugh in the worst of times... and the best of times too. Though how anyone's teeth could be so white was beyond me. It would sparkle sometimes, when he grinned long enough for his teeth to be showing. _

_I laughed. "If you keep putting them into it, they're going to all fall out of the thin bread that's holding them in."_

"_Hey, _I'm _the one that wants to go into culinary. Maybe one day, I'll make a sandwich called the Ham and Pineapple Deluxe! I'll make the pineapple bits fairly flat, so that they wouldn't fall out of it!" he told me. "It sounds good..." _

"_Reminds me of Hawaiian pizza," I answered him. "Mm... except its missing the tomato sauce, the cheese..." I trailed off as I longed irrationally for pizza. _

_He just laughed and reached a free hand over to tousle my hair with his hand. "Maybe I'll invent the Hawaiian Sandwich!" he told me, his soft brown eyes brimming with sudden excitement. _

"_Uhh..." I scratched my head. "Isn't that like a version of pizza? It's made out of bread too, you know," I remarked. _

"_Thanks, Claire," he said sarcastically. "That was so deep."_

"_And you just make oh-so-deep remarks also," I retorted playfully back to him. I took the last bite to my sandwich, finishing it. I sat back and relaxed, gazing at nothing in particular. Kai finished his, and hugged me closer to him. _

"Gah!" I yelled out, as I flinched out of sleep. I rubbed my eyes, chasing sleep out of them. One glance at the clock told me that it was four in the morning, which wasn't all that great. I yawned as I stretched, trying to push the images of Kai out of my mind. The dream (or would you call it a nightmare, in this case?) was still quite fresh. I was sure that if I went back to sleep, I wouldn't most likely forget about it, but then, if I did, I'd probably dream about it again, which wouldn't help all that much. I sighed painfully.

Since I didn't want to go back to sleep, I pulled myself shakily out of bed, and dressed; today, just in a t-shirt and sweat pants. I sat at the table and chairs, staring unseeingly at the wall. I was thinking way too much about this. I had to stop thinking about Kai before it made me so depressed that I would ruin everyone's mood. I think I'll probably already ruined Ann's yesterday, and I wasn't sure if Mary was fine or not. If she liked Gray... then... u...ungh! Why was I always the one that was singled out? My head in my hands, I tried unsuccessfully to avoid all thoughts related to the traveller. What would happen when he came here and saw me here? What would he say? What would he do? Was he already in a relationship with someone else? Panic and angst welled up inside me, which is _not_ a comfortable feeling. This... this really sucked.

I didn't notice I was crying until I rested my hand on my cheek, and felt wet drops. I wiped my eyes hastily, thinking maybe I'll skip farmwork today. The plants would do fine without a bit of water today... besides... it looked like it was going to rain. It was already spitting outside. I heard a gentle knock on the door, but I didn't bother going to try to open it. Whoever it was, they would have to wait a long time or come back later. I buried my head in my arms, in which I placed on the table. I tried to take deep breaths, but it ended up more like shaky ones.

"C-Claire...?"

"ACK!!" I screamed loudly, jumping up and nearly toppling backwards.

"S-sorry!" Gray exclaimed, shock the dominant emotion on his face.

"D-d-don't scare me like that!" I said breathlessly, trying to steady myself.

He nodded solemnly, then his quick eyes examined me. Ungh, I must've looked really bad; his expression said it all.

"What...-" he started to say, then stopped. That's when I realized, my eyes were probably red, while my cheeks still slightly tear-stained. I felt something cold on my cheeks. Great. Just great. I quickly turned my head away, letting my blond tresses fall forward.

"Uh...," he said roughly, "I... I, uh, I'll leave now. Um, sorry to bother you-"

"No, no, it's fine," I managed to choke out, my voice sounding slightly composed. Or at least, that's what I thought.

"Um..." I felt his stare trying to penetrate past the wall of hair that I put up. "A-are you okay?"

I didn't answer. My voice would probably break or crack if I spoke.

"Claire...," he spoke softly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm fine," I said shakily, risking a glance at him. His eyes were laced with concern, and when I took my glance, he tried to catch my eye desperately. I looked away again, and sank down onto a chair. He was silent for a bit.

"If... if you can't tell me, that's alright...," he said softly after a little while. "Just...-" he stopped, took his hand, and pulled back my blond tresses away from my face, revealing my tear-stained, and now shocked face. "If you need me... you'll know where to find me," he finished. He tucked them around my shoulder, and I glanced at him, and he caught it this time. He gazed at me for a while, then

I was slightly too shocked to move after he left. Did... did he just...? I shook my head. Confusing. I was confused. Since when was Gray so bold like that? Since when would he actually extend his hand to pull back hair and tuck it behind my ear? I always thought he'd be... not like that. I sighed. Once again, I was too confused too make another fair decision on whether that was in Gray's character or not. I needed to tell someone, and unload _all _of this crap around Kai, and now Gray. Unnghh... and... how did he get in here? Did I really leave the door unlocked?

My thoughts were interrupted my another knock on my door. This time, there was no gentle knock. It was loud, thundering noise that could only belong to the one and only.

"CLAIRE!! OPEN UP!!" Ann yelled.

I sighed. "I think the door's unlocked!" I called back to her, not wanting to move. I needed a sofa or something in here. It would be much for comfortable...

"Oh," I heard Ann say. A small click confirmed my theory. So I did leave it unlocked. If so, then when? Did I seriously leave it unlocked the whole night? I shivered. Creepy.

"HI CLAIRE!!" Ann yelled, her ponytail bouncing up and down as she bounded into my small living quarters. Her eyes were so exuberant, her expression was so happy, it was almost creeping me out.

I yawned. I felt sleepy now. "H-hi Ann," my voice was hoarse. "D-did you find Mary last... night?"

"Oh," she said quietly. "Oh. Oh! I'm sorry, Claire! That was really insensitive of me! Are... are you okay? I... I mean, you didn't look all that great yesterday... uh..."

"Um..." I hid my expression from view. "F-fine," I said, but my voice broke the slightest bit. I hoped Ann wouldn't notice.

My hopes were smashed. Ann noticed. "Oh...," was what she said. "I, um... Claire? Don't be sad!" Her expression became determined. "I'll help you through this!"

As I glanced up at her, her expression and tone were so hilarious, I giggled softly. "A-Ann... th-that was funny... you... ah..."

"Um..." Ann had a stunned expression. "Uh..."

Woah, this was a new one; Ann's speechless. She regained her composure quickly though.

"I'll help you! Mary and I will help!" she stated, posing in that hilarious way again, with her fist held in front of her.

I managed to stifle the majority of the giggles now.

"Th-thanks, Ann."

Ann looked over her shoulder, calling, "MARY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Hm? Mary was here? So I guess she did find her... I peeked around Ann to see a slim silhouette lingering, almost hesitantly, outside my doorway. The sun was not fully up yet, but there were faint traces of light that was splashed across the field.

"Mary?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

She walked cautiously into my house, her expression somewhat guilty.

"Uh... Claire?" she asked tentatively.

I looked up. She fidgeted.

"Um... s-sorry about yesterday," she started in a quiet voice. "Um... s-sorry!" she blurted out.

I looked at her blankly. Huh? Was she talking about when she ran off?

"Ah...," she mused. "You seem confused... um... I was talking about when yesterday... I ran off, and... it was rude..."

I shook my head. "It's fine, Mary. You were just probably having a bad day or something; everyone gets them."

She paused. "No... I wasn't... well... not quite, really."

I stared questioningly at her.

"Ann... was... her guess was... right... I did like Gray-" I opened my mouth to say something to her, but she put up her hand and stopped me. She paused, and played with her raven black tresses thoughtfully. "But... but I... don't... anymore..."

I stared. Her voice didn't sound all that convincing, but then again, it was sincere and she sounded like she didn't like him anymore.

"Mary? When did you stop liking him?"

This took her slightly by surprise. "Um... I don't know, maybe a month ago?" She smiled. "I don't really keep track of these things."

"Oh."

"Why do you ask?"

"Uh... well, I thought maybe since I came here, you stopped...?" I trailed off suggestively.

Mary took in the words, her panic washing over her features. "N-no! That-that has nothing to do with it! Y-You shouldn't feel bad, Claire. It's not any fault of yours."

I stared at the tensor bandage wrapped around my wrist that I placed on this morning, wondering if she was lying or not. I certainly didn't want to be the source of her sudden idea of not liking him. If I was, I would feel really guilty about it, especially because I came to to relieve pain... and here I was, causing some. I sighed internally. I really hoped that wasn't the case.

"Claire? It's fine, you realize. It has no bearing on you."

Hmm... her voice seemed sure, and I could detect no form of faltering or lies. I nodded finally.

Unexpectedly, Mary pulled me into a hug. "YAY!" she said loudly, in a very Ann-ish like manner, which in my opinion, freaked me out slightly. I think Ann got to her somehow. I hugged her back however, glad that we were both on good terms again.

I sat back down, my ankle and wrist hurting much less. Mary had a hint of a smile, while playing a lock of her black hair. It seemed like a habit. She always seemed to be playing with it. My observation must have shown, because Ann grinned at me.

"Noticed that too?" she asked.

I nodded. Mary didn't seem to hear; either she was blocking us out absentmindedly, or she was listening, but didn't say anything. I didn't think it was the latter, though.

Mary snapped out of her daze. "Are will still fine for tonight?"

Ann nodded. "I'll bring out everything again!" she smirked. "Don't get hurt again, Claire." she warned me.

I grinned at her. That surprised me slightly. It wasn't something I usually did nowadays...

"Oh, Claire?" Mary questioned.

"Mm?"

"So, Ann has told me that you like Gray. If it's true, in which, I think so," she stopped, and smirked at Ann. "Then he-"

"NO!" Ann shouted. "Don't tell her now! Tell her later..." she grinned evilly.

Mary rolled her eyes, tucking back some of her black hair behind her. "Then you should know that he asked me about you at the library a little while ago." She giggled.

I stared at her, dumbfounded. Huh. So it wasn't just my imagination that I might like him. He can probably see it. It's really sad, how much people can see through me...

I asked the obvious. "What did he say about...?" I trailed off suggestively.

Mary smirked this time. "This is causes too much enjoyment to be discussed now...," she said. "If I continue, Ann will probably kill me. She really doesn't want me to tell you yet, and for what reason, I don't know. It's not that big of a deal," she added.

Ann smiled angelically.

Mary leaned closer to me and whispered, "She has one strong grip," before Ann started to become suspicious. I think she heard though, because her smile became even more angelic than before. She pulled out the ponytail that her hair was up in just for effect, as she looked much more girly-ish and less of a tomboy when she did so.

Mary and I both laughed. Ann grinned.

Silence issued after our laughter had died away, each of us seeming to be lost in our own little world... the sun rising slightly casting its light through my windows and illuminating the house with natural light. I got up, (and no one really seemed to notice) and leaned on my window sill. The sky was a soft gray, with a hint of blue. From the water-saturated clouds, rain drizzled lightly down from the sky, hitting the ground gently beneath it. I gazed at the scenery before me, deep in thought. Even through the rain, there was still a hint of sun behind it. A bit more than a hint, really. It shone through; pierced through the clouds, creating natural light...

"Claire? Claire?" Ann asked repetitively, tapping my shoulder.

I turned around, having being yanked out of my reverie, slightly dazed. "What?" I asked.

"You've been staring outside for a long time," Ann concluded.

"Oh. Was I?"

"You were," she replied.

"What were you doing?" Mary asked. "Thinking?" She paused. "Probably. Ann even went outside and rapped on the window you were staring out of, you know," she commented.

I smirked; the mental image of Ann knocking on my glass window while I was staring aimlessly out of it was rather amusing.

"It was quite humorous," she agreed, letting a smile tug at her lips.

"What?" Ann stated defensively. "I was just seeing what she was doing. Her eyes were kinda glazed over," she added.

"Hmph."

"Relax, Ann," I told her, "I wasn't doing anything, really." I sighed. "Just... thinking..."

Mary seemed to catch onto something that I didn't even know I implied. "Oh," she said. "Are you feeling alright, Claire...? We could leave, if you want..."

I shook my head, saying, "No, it's fine, really. I enjoy the company." I finished with a small smile.

She looked at me, deciding whether or not to leave. Her gaze was piercing. She nodded slowly, and sat down on one of my chairs. Ann and I joined her.

"Why is it raining in the summer?" Ann asked randomly.

"I... don't know..." I answered distantly, thinking, once again, about something else...

"The weather has been awfully cold lately," Mary stated. "Today is one of the few days where it's slightly warmer, but raining..." she sighed. "With rain and sun, comes a rainbow," she stated quietly, staring out of the window.

I stared downward at the table, thinking. Maybe now, it would be a good time to unload all the crap that I've harbored about Kai. I really needed to get rid of this; I needed to tell someone or maybe more than someone. I bit my lip, wondering if now was a good time to release all these emotions. If I told them, it might kill their good moods for sure, especially Ann's, (though she was unusually quiet now) and possibly Mary's, even though she seemed slightly somber as well... perhaps she had a lot on her mind, like I did.

Whatever option I was going to choose, Mary decided it for me, without knowing, of course.

"Where do you think Kai's gone to?" she asked. Such a simple question... yet the words made me depressed...

I saw Ann stiffen noticeably, as she encountered what happened yesterday night when she mentioned his name. I heard her hiss softly. Obviously, Ann didn't tell Mary about my reaction, because she didn't seem to know at all.

"He usually isn't this late coming in the year. Always on time, that Kai... the first of summer is when he should be here..." she mused to herself.

I flinched, but tried to contain it. I think Ann might have noticed. It was true, Kai was one to always be early or exactly on time. When he used to pick me up... _Stop it, Claire, or else you're going to flip out, _I told myself before I allowed myself to think about it any further.

"K-Kai...," I spoke quietly. Ann looked at me, shocked. She was probably wondering what the hell I was doing. I didn't really know either. Mary looked at me, curiosity in her eyes. I continued, "is... an idiot..."

Mary stared at me, shocked. "Wh-what?"

"He...-" I was cut off when Mary spoke.

"You... you knew him?" she asked me. "From... from where? When?"

I didn't say anything. Ann cast me a glance, and for some reason, guilt washed over her features. I couldn't understand why, she didn't do anything wrong here...

"Mary...," Ann muttered.

"Oh! Um... s-sorry Claire... I'll... I'll stop..."

I thought about it. I wanted to unload everything, didn't I? Then why was I hesitating?

"N-no... Ann... it's... fine..." I cleared my throat. I could see the curiosity burning in both of their eyes anyway. "I take it that you want to know? Ann... you should know a bit more... since yesterday..."

She nodded. "You can fill Mary in, if you want. It's not really much more. I... I'll... tell you about it. Tonight, that is..." I needed some mental preparation, if I was going to spill completely.

They both stared at me, completely speechless. I didn't know what left them so speechless, but even Ann remained open-mouthed. Mary looked slightly more composed, with her eyebrows arched, while her mouth was slightly open in shock.

"Um...," I stated. "You know, if you don't want to know, say so now..."

They both regained their composure.

"Hey... does anyone want to go to the Hot Springs?" Ann asked, breaking the tension. "It's around early afternoon now... we could all work up an appetite!"

I smiled. A hint of smirk was on Mary's expression.

"Alright, then, let's all meet there in ten minutes!" Ann said loudly. She waved to me as she left. Mary got up too, and paused. I looked quizzically at her.

"What's up?" I asked her.

She turned and gazed at me. "You hide it well...," she stated.

"Hide it well...?" I asked her.

"Yes... like just before... you hid your pain well... but believe me... it doesn't fool some people...," she trailed off. I thought she was referring to herself. I wasn't surprised. Mary was fairly quick and intuitive.

"Not me," she informed me calmly, catching my I-knew-it-was-you glance.

"Wh-who...?" I asked.

"...You'll find out... soon enough..." was all she said. "I'll see you at the hot springs in a few minutes...," She gave a brief wave, a smile, and walked out of my house, closing the door softly behind her with a 'click'.

Hm... her attitude there was interesting. She was very perceptive; much more than she usually shows herself to be. I pondered over that... who could possibly know...? She said I'd find out soon enough, but did that mean she'd tell me? Maybe. She was acting very mysteriously today, with her changing attitudes... she was still shy Mary and all, but I think that she leaves people to believe that she knows more than she shows. That's what I gathered, anyway, from her little speech at the end...

I gathered my clothing and put on my swimsuit, then left quickly to the hot springs. I had about three minutes to be there. Knowing Mary, she'd probably be there already, and Ann would probably be five minutes late. I grinned at the thought, exited my house, and quickened my pace.

--

I arrived at the hot springs with time to spare. As I had guessed, Mary was there, but Ann wasn't. I threw off my clothes, revealing a one piece with a navy blue colour and a sky blue ribbon attached to it. Mary was already there, wearing also a one piece, that was also a blue, but a different shade from mine. A royal blue was the colour that painted hers, with a small ribbon at the side of it. She noticed me, and waved.

"Hi Claire," she said to me.

"Hey."

We both got in. It felt wonderful, to be honest. It was warm and relaxing, and I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. I heard Mary sigh contentedly, and I think she probably leaned back as well. Everything was peaceful and quiet for a little bit. As usual, Ann wasn't here yet. I giggled quietly. She would always be late, wouldn't she?

"Don't you just like it when it's quiet? You can hear the sounds of nature around..." Mary commented, closing her eyes.

"It does feel nice," I replied.

We listened for a few minutes, hearing the rustle of trees, bushes, and the soft, gentle breeze. The rain had let up, and the sun shone brightly down. The weather sure had a drastic change. All was quiet... until... SPLASH!

"ACK!" I shouted, jumping up slightly, and applying a little to much pressure to my ankle. "Ah!"

"ARHH!!" Mary screamed. "Something poked me!!"

Ann flew up from the water, a huge grin plastered onto her face. "Hee hee!" she laughed. "Oh my goodness, that was hilarious! Ah, the look on your faces!" She continued her chuckling.

Mary and I looked at each other. We nodded, and she grinned. I held up three fingers, and counted down. By the time I was holding up none, we both performed a massive splash with our arms that hit Ann. It splashed against her like a whirlpool. When she didn't emerge, I exchanged a worried glance with Mary.

"ARGHH!" I exclaimed loudly and I flinched. Something had poked me, and I was willing to bet that it was Ann. I wasn't wrong, as she made herself known when she emerged her hair covering her face. Mary started laughing hysterically. Ann chuckled, and I giggled.

The childish water fights continued for a bit. I guess that's what I needed. Some childish fun, and a break from all that serious stuff. It did help relieve some stress, that's for sure. Eventually, though, our constant splashing came to an end. We stopped, and just relaxed a bit more.

"Ah... that's a great stress reliever, you know," I commented in general.

"I agree completely," Mary added.

"Sure," Ann stated, giggling quietly.

--

When we were all out of the water, dressed and considerably content, we parted ways. Ann went toward the Inn, Mary towards the library, and I headed towards my farm. Ann had also reminded me with a little more force than necessary that I should not fall down again so she wouldn't have to postpone the sleepover again. Mary just waved shyly to me, then exited, promising that she would be there tonight.

I headed towards my farm, trudging through the path towards my home. Ann had sped ahead, saying that she "wanted to prepare things", and had a huge grin plastered onto her face. Mary had also went off with her, leaving me to walk at my turtle-slow pace. It didn't help that I couldn't walk or run as fast as them, because of my sprained ankle. And so, I wandered through the bushes and trees, careful to not lose my footing on a rock or anything. That would be bad, if I fell now... there was probably no one in here at this moment.

How very wrong I was.

I heard rustling in the bushes at the very moment that I thought that there was no one here. I froze, rendering myself completely motionless, staring at the bushes. They rustled again, and I saw a certain blacksmith trip out and grunt.

This shocked me quite a bit, I gathered, because I jumped up.

"G-Gah!" I shouted, while almost losing my balance and toppling over. That when I realized, he was _bleeding._

He looked up at me from my outburst a few seconds ago, brilliant blue eyes piercing through me.

"C-Claire..."

I stared at him. "Wh-what did you do...? Y-Your hand... it's bleeding!" I cried, blanching visibly.

His vision shifted back towards his hand, his eyes widening. He didn't know he was bleeding!? He must have jabbed his palm on something sharp... the blood oozed out of wherever the cut was on his palm. Ungh... I focused on his expression instead of looking at his palm, trying not to grossed out completely. Gray's expression didn't really change all that much, except that I could see slight pain visible in his clear eyes. He glanced at me, then put his hand in his pocket, fishing around for a tissue, I assumed.

I was slightly quicker. I pulled a bunch of tissues out of my pocket, and handed them to him in a panic. He took them willingly, mumbling his thanks. He pressed the tissues against the cut, and eventually, after much silence, the bleeding stopped.

"A lot of blood there...," he commented to himself, wiping up what was left.

"M-maybe you need more vitamin K?" I joked weakly.

He caught my eye, and surprisingly it seemed like he was fighting a smile.

"Maybe," he said, his eyes twinkling, the hint of a smile curving his lips.

I stared back at him, surprised at such a response. He smiled, amused.

"U-uh, do... do you need to come back to my farm and clean off your hand...?"

"Sure," he said, seeming slightly like a different person, all gruffness gone.

We walked back towards my farm in silence. There wasn't anything for me to say, and he seemed to be speechless or didn't have anything to say. A couple of times I had the guts to glance over at his face, but he didn't seem to notice. I blushed anyway, thinking of what would happen if he did notice.

We arrived at my farm, and I rushed inside, letting him in, and directing him towards a sink. He washed off the dry blood, which left a clean, clear line of the cut. It was quite large, it cut from around below the thumb to the bottom of his index finger. I gasped quietly. I saw his jaw tighten as the water washed over it, and I gathered that it probably stung a lot.

"H-how did you get a cut that big?" I asked him, slightly shaken.

"I-I was... I cut it with a tool when I was working," he answered quickly and innocently.

I gave him a gazed at him, a disbelieving look was what I was aiming for. He gazed back calmly into my eyes, and I tried not to lose my composure. I wondered vaguely if he could control how powerful he could make his gaze.

I saw him smile slightly, then turn away. A few minutes later, we both walked out back towards the chairs and table, (with Gray being fully bandaged) and I sat down. He hesitated for a moment, and looked at me.

"You can sit...," I commented, "do you want anything to drink...?" I asked him, not wanting to be rude.

"I'm fine," he assured me as he sat down. There was a long silence again. I stared at the table, fidgeting slightly. I felt his gaze on me on several occasions, but I never looked up. That's when fidgeting came in.

"How's your ankle?" he asked softly after a little bit, breaking the silence.

"F-fine," I answered, slightly shaken. "I... I think it's healing."

He nodded, a smile spreading across his features. "I'm glad."

I stared at him, yet again. I was so surprised by his reactions lately... it was like he was a totally different person.

"Ah, but... you shouldn't push yourself too hard!" he said, gruffness returning back to his voice. "Or else... it'll take longer to heal," he continued hastily.

I felt my cheeks tinge red, and this time, I didn't know why. It wasn't like I was embarrassed or that he did anything...

He extended his arm out to grab his hat that was lying there on the table, due to him taking it off a few minutes ago. My hand was ling a few inches off from where the brim was. His hand shook slightly when he reached out, and for a second, it looked like he was going to grab my hand, but it was too a little too fast for me to be certain. Maybe that was just me thinking too much into it... and being hopeful... I sighed out loud.

Gray heard. He looked at me, curiosity raging in his eyes. I didn't really know what there was to be curious about... it was just a sigh. His cerulean eyes were penetrating. After a bit, he lowered his gaze, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red.

...What...? He was... blushing? I eyed him, curious this time. He glanced up at me once, but then looked back down, reddening again. Of course, when he caught me staring at him, I blushed as well. We both looked down at the table, studying its wooden structure.

When the remainder of my blush had faded, I looked up at him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up, stating that he needed to be a the shop, and that he was behind. I just nodded, and he left quickly.

I sat there for a little while, somewhat too shocked to move. This was an interesting twist. I forced myself to move, and I moved stiffly to pack my things for tonight's sleepover with Ann and Mary. They deserved to know some truth, and tonight, they'd get it.

* * *

**And that's the end... of this chapter. I'm sorry-it was kinda short, and it wasn't all that important. It was sort of a build-up to see that Claire will explain and cleanse herself out to Ann and Mary about all the stress that's been happening in her life, since they are super worried about her. The last bit about Gray wasn't really planned; it just sort of laid itself out. You can probably tell; it was sort of rushed. **

**The next chapter... –sigh- I don't know... sorry, I think it'll probably be somewhat late again. It'll take a little more thought than some of the fillers here, so I can't write it when I'm super sleepy (which would be after I finished homework...). I also want to work on some other fics (probably one shots/two shots, etc.) on Phoenix Wright. I also have other written pieces that need to be written that count for marks (unfortunately, my English teacher likes to give out lots of stuff... –another sigh-). Ya... I'll stop complaining now. XD**

**Just don't expect the next chapter to be out anytime soon. **

**And... I'm gone. See ya in the next update! **


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